This blog is dedicated to making the public aware of what happened in operation Green Rx / Endless Summer as well as the continued prosecution of legitimate medical cannabis patients trying to follow the law in San Diego as a result of District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis' thirst for a higher conviction rate and bias towards medical cannabis.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Editor’s Note: Eugene Davidovich is a medical marijuana patient who was arrested during Operation Endless Summer(also known as Operation Green Rx). He is currently being charged with four counts of possession, transportation and sale of marijuana but he believes he was targeted for being a medical marijuana patient.SDNN political editor Hoa Quach has invited him to blog about the charges brought forth against him and his trial. This is a blog entry by Davidovich, the views expressed here are his own and does not reflect the views of any SDNN employee.

It has now been over five months since my house was raided and I was arrested in Operation Green Rx [Operation Endless Summer]. In these five months my career, family, personal life, and everything else that used to make up the life of Eugene has dramatically and permanently changed.

Prior to the arrest I was working full-time at an IT company, managing e-commerce integration projects for large corporations. At the time, I was also studying to take the PMI Certification. I figured being certified as a professional project manager by the PMI Institute, combined with my years of experience, military service, and having completed a bachelor’s degree in Business and an MBA would surely help put me on the right track towards an excellent career in the corporate world and would allow me to secure a stable and comfortable future for my wife and son.

This all changed one morning in February, when armed detectives from the San Diego Police Department raided my house. They searched everything at home and found nothing of interest aside from piles of baby clothes, diapers, and mine and my wife’s clothes and personal belongings. After rummaging through our items and not finding anything illegal, I feel that the detectives became frustrated and decided to use psychological intimidation. It began with them telling my wife that our son would be taken, that we would lose all our belongings, that I was a danger, and how could she be married to someone like me, etc. The badgering went on for hours. I was kept in handcuffs for about eight hours that day, a good part of which I spent on my front porch, in front of my neighbors.

After being taken off in a police car, the officer took me to my storage unit, where the others detectives were already waiting. Having found nothing illegal there either, the detectives decided to take me to the precinct for one more round of questioning. Keep in mind, I had asked for an attorney and invoked my rights, immediately after the first detective told me I was under arrest.

At the precinct, the first 45 minutes I spent handcuffed in the back of the police car in the garage while some of the officers and detectives finished lunch. Once properly fed, they decided to continue the questioning. Detective Decastro ordered an officer to take me out of the car and place me on the chair in front of where Detective Decastro and an older gray haired detective sat. The questioning had hardly begun when Detective Decastro pulls out two black three inch plastic binders, opens one of them and tells me that I am not alone, and that he plans on bringing all us “medical pot people” down.

At this point I realized what this was about. I realized that this man sitting in front of me has no respect for the laws in place protecting patients from individuals specifically in his situation. The folders he pulled out contained the names of several dozen individuals he was investigating. Once he realized I was not planning on having any discussions with him, he quickly placed the binders back in the plastic box and wheeled it off.

Another plain closed officer was assigned to transport me to jail, and I was quickly rushed off to the San Diego jail, downtown. After spending some time in jail, the details of which I will discuss another time, I was bailed out, and finally made it home.

The raid, hours handcuffed and being paraded in front of my neighbors while my wife was being interrogated, as well as the psychological intimidation tactics used by the detectives both at my house and at the precinct, reminded me of the military. In some of the training and seminars I had gone through while in the Navy, they illustrated what being a prisoner of war would be like if captured, where psychological intimidation and warfare is used, detention, etc.

Two weeks later I was due for an arraignment in court which happened to land on the same day as San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ news conference about Operation Endless Summer. In this news conference she said “don’t mess with the military” and talked about cleaning up drug dealing on Navy bases.

When I walked into the courthouse I saw a camera there, and specifically asked the judge not to have my face shown on television as I was worried about my job. The judge denied my request and allowed the coverage to proceed. The evening news quickly picked up the story and that night showed video of me at the arraignment hearing, painting me as the poster child of this operation. They mentioned my name and showed my picture following the description of the total number of illegal drugs seized during Operation Endless Summer, with no mention of the fact that this was actually Operation Green Rx, and that not a single one of the images shown on television that night, or since has been an image of something that belonged or is alleged to belong to me.

The next day at work was awkward, to say the least. In fact, that night I was already receiving calls from coworkers asking if it was really me they had seen on television the night before. Needless to say, I was not able to remain there for long, and had to resign. In the few weeks following my arraignment, I was literally watching my life and everything I had worked very hard for completely be disassembled and destroyed.

What was most painful for me to see about the press conference and the initial news coverage was that my service to this country had been tainted and smeared making me out to be someone who preys on the military rather than a patriot and a veteran.

The little savings that I did have, went to bail, my attorney, and the other legal expenses, leaving me in a situation where I am now on the verge of bankruptcy and can no longer afford to retain my attorney. This means that I might be forced to either represent myself or go with a public defender, the majority of who are overloaded with the other cases.The DA’s office as displayed at my preliminary hearing on July 13 has dedicated huge amounts of resources to prosecuting my case and damaging my reputation. There were several attorneys and investigators working together with the DA that day against me. The DA is not limited in their resources as I am.

In addition to this top notch prosecution team now focused on putting me away, the DA’s office has decided to remove any chance I could possibly have for getting a job in San Diego to help pay for my defense and try to get back on my feet, by labeling this a “High Profile” case.

My name now appears on the DA’s Web site in the “High Profile Cases Section.” It states that I am charged with transporting more than 28 grams making me out to be a narcotics trafficker, which simply is not true and a complete misrepresentation of the charges against me.

On Monday, I went in to court for another arraignment. This time instead of one camera, there were several there to film the proceedings. My attorney and I both answered a few questions to one of the reporters who requested an interview. The arraignment was allowed to be continued August 28. This was per my request to have more time to try to raise money to keep my defense attorney and not have to switch to a public defender.

I plan on raising the money to retain my one defense attorney, Mike McCabe, to defend me from this prosecution team and this smear campaign through grassroots fund raising efforts. There are many in the community who are demanding answers to why these bias driven prosecutions are allowed to continue, why the District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis publicly says she support safe access and medical cannabis while at the same time in court allows the designation of detectives as chief investigative officers on medical cases, when their medical training is based on a handout that states cannabis is illegal, a highly addictive narcotic, and is not medicine.

If the narcotics task force, the county, and the DA’s office would invest even a third of the effort and funding into productive outreach to medical collectives and began to actually work with patients instead of creating roadblocks and these bias driven prosecutions, then I am certain that all the public concerns would have already been addressed with relation to medical cannabis collectives, legal zoning ordinances and permits for collectives would be an issue of the past as it is with many cities in California, and I would still be happily building a career managing projects, raising my son, and focusing on my future rather than having to fight for something that has been sanctioned under state law for over thirteen years.

It is now more crucial than ever for supporters, patients, doctors, law enforcement officials, and our health department to continue the dialog recently started by the City Council in the last few weeks. It is also just as critical for the people of San Diego to see with transparency these cases and demand accountability from the people behind these investigations. The senseless waste and harassment needs to stop.

The solution is not bans, moratoriums, or prosecutions. Outright bans result in lawsuits, moratoriums in years of stalling and extensions of the moratoriums with no clarification for patients, and prosecutions result in patients and collectives having to operate so deeply underground that any potential benefit they could be bringing to the community is stifled by the environment of fear.

The solution will only be discovered through collaboration, outreach, understanding, and education of between all the parties involved. Until there is clarity patients will continue to suffer, our law enforcement will continue to operate under “vague laws”, and the lives of innocent law abiding citizens will continue to be destroyed by a select bias driven few.

August eighth is two weeks away, and does not alow me enough time to gather the required funds to continue to retain Mr. McCabe as my defense council. Although I have not been convicted of any crime, I have already suffered tremendous financial and personal loss as a result of these charges and the news coverage of Operation Endless Summer in February.

I was forced to resign from my job, I have fallen behind on all my bills and am completely bankrupt. The District Attorney’s Office as displayed at my preliminary hearing on July 13, 2009 has dedicated huge amounts of resources to prosecuting my case and damaging my reputation. There were several attorneys and investigators working together with the DA against me. The DA is not limited in their resources as I am.

In addition to this top notch prosecution team now focused on putting me away, the DA’s office has decided to remove any chance I could possibly have for getting a job in San Diego to help pay for my case and try to get back on my feet, by labeling this a “High Profile” case. My name now appears on the DA’s website in the High Profile Cases Section. It states that I am charged with transporting more than 28 grams making me out to be a narcotics trafficker, which simply is not true and a complete misrepresentation of the charges against me.

Why is this clearly bias driven prosecution allowed to continue?

The money I plan on raising to retain my ONE defense attorney, Mr. McCabe, to defend me from this prosecution team and this smear campaign, will be raised by the community through grassroots fundraising efforts.

Your honor please allow a continuance of my arraignment until September 7, 2009 by which time I hope to have the necessary funds to retain Mr. McCabe further, otherwise the District Attorney’s office should pay for my defense, or at the least provide me with employment so that I can pay for the defense myself while going through trial.

Respectfully,

Eugene Davidovich

After my request was reviewed by the DA it was agreed that my next day in court, the Arraignment will be held on August 28th.

Quotes from the detective on the stand at the preliminary when asked about What Operation Endless Summer and Green Rx was and the details of it: (all quotes came directly from the transcript of the preliminary hearing held on July 13th. The transcript in its entirety 142+ pages will be available online soon)

Det. Henderson: "The list was taken from the NORML Website, Yes". "I think off the list there were about 20 numbers of places. I think out of those, maybe four or five were non-existent. So 15 or 16."

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Proposition 215 also known as the Compassionate Use Act passed over thirteen years ago by California voters, was followed by Senate Bill 420 passed in 2003. SB420 not only reaffirmed the defense in court allowed to patients under Prop 215, it also mandated that counties around the state implement a voluntary ID Card program designed to give patients additional protection from arrest and prosecution. Most counties and cities in the state have long since adopted the ID card program mandated by SB420.

In the case of the City of San Diego, additional protection to patients were established by passing local ordinances allowing higher limits both on plant numbers and the amount of dried cannabis a patient could possess, transport, etc. The laws continued to evolve, and now we hav e the City of Oakland where voters approved with 80 percent support the nations first tax on “cannabis businesses”. The additional tax would asses $18 for every $1,000 of gross receipts beginning January 1, 2010, and there are even discussions and debates on a national level about decriminalization and in California outright legalization, regulation, and taxation of cannabis which the Department of Equalization last week estimated could potentially bring in over 1.4 billion in additional annual revenue to the State's general fund.

The San Diego County Board however took a strong position against Prop 215. In 2006 the City of San Diego was preparing to issue its own ID Cards to provide as much protection to patients in the city as it possibly could from the clear bias and unwillingness of the county to comply with state law. The county wouldn't have it. They filed a lawsuit against “San Diego NORML”, and pursued it all the way to the US Supreme Court, resulting in a landmark decision in favor of medical cannabis patients and at the same time putting the City's ID Card program on hold.

Today as San Diego County finally began accepting applications for the long awaited ID Cards after being forced to do so by the US Supreme court, and as a few ID cards begin arriving in the mail, our elected officials both city and county are forced to acknowledge and deal with the collective cultivation efforts and dispensing collectives opening in San Diego.

Most cities within San Diego County have quickly adopted moratorium which prevent new collectives from opening. The San Diego county however, as the first order of business after implementing the most expensive ID Card program in the state, decided to draft an ordinance that would “prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries in the Unincorporated Areas”. The County Bord's June 23 meeting agenda read “The sale and use of marijuana is illegal under Federal law for any purpose”. The item went on to discuss the negative impacts of “dispensaries” on communities and ended with “Chairwoman Jacob, Supervisor Horn, Sheriff Kolender, and District Attorney Dumanis, Direct the Chief Administrative Officer to work with County Counsel to draft an ordinance amendment to the County's Zoning Ordinance prohibiting illegal medical marijuana dispensaries from operating within the unincorporated area of the County.”

While the county is busy implementing yet another roadblock for patients, the San Diego City Council decided to take a different approach. On Wednesday July 8, 2009 at the San Diego City Public Safety and Health Committee meeting the issue of medical cannabis regulations was raised and debated. The establishment of a Medical Cannabis Task Force was discussed and planned. Testimony from law enforcement, health officials, and patients was heard and acknowledged by Chairwoman Marti Emerald and other members of the committee, council member Tony Young even extended an invitation to all those who came to speak from the public that day to his office for further discussions and dialog. The Committee will reconvene again to take action on these issues on the 29 of July.

The District Attorney's office decided to take a different approach altogether. Last year as Operation Green RX was in its early stages, the San Diego Police Department Narcotics Task Force sent detectives to local doctors to obtain valid recommendations for medical cannabis. The intent was to target and bring down all medical cannabis related activity in San Diego. With these valid recommendations in hand, detectives targeted all the collectives and cooperatives listed on the CA NORML website. The operation began with the detectives calling the collectives over the phone, providing all the pertinent information to prove their status as legitimate patients, and then requesting to join each individual collective.

The undercover officers proceeded to request deliveries of medication to a house set up in Pacific Beach for this operation to be used as their home, then three months later raided over fifteen houses, sticking true to their motto of “Let the courts sort it out”.

At the press conference there was no mention of medical cannabis, Operation Green RX, or the fact that half the people netted in the operation were medical patients that had no ties to the military or to the illegal drugs shown during the press conference. The news picked it up as a major victory in the illegal war on drugs by our District Attorney, when in fact it was a clear continued attempt to shut down collectives, and prevent any attempts made by patients to follow the law.

As court records have now revealed, this operation was in fact called Green RX and a number of detectives have already testified under oath that this operation was targeted at medical cannabis in San Diego and had nothing to do with targeting drug sales to the military or on navy bases/housing. At these same hearings, these same detectives boast about the medical cannabis training they received in Sacramento. When questioned further as to the type of training, the detectives state that the training is provided by the California Narcotics Officers Association (CNOA) and a very informative handout that they received and base their expert opinion on.

Here is a brief sample from that handout: USE OF MARIJUANA AS “MEDICINE”Quick Facts:Marijuana, a plant from the cannabis family, is illegal and highly psychoactive.Marijuana and its associated compounds can seriously affect the human body.Marijuana is NOT medicine.

There is no mention or detailed description of any of the medical cannabis laws or related legislation anywhere in that handout. In fact the document is a clear misrepresentation of medical facts, and is clearly bias. The most troubling of this situation is that when an expert witness who helped work with the legislators on drafting and formulating Prop 215 is brought in to examine the evidence, determines and testifies that the defendant was in fact in compliance, the judge dismisses the experts testimony and sides with the 'medically' trained detectives.

Many in San Diego were under the impression that Operation Green RX was a federal effort was executed by the DEA or in collaboration with other federal and local agencies. When the Obama administration decided not to pursue medical cannabis patients, and had the Attorney General's office issue statements of the like, many were convinced that the President's position on the issue combined with the US Supreme Court's decision not to hear San Diego County's law suit, would end Operation Green RX and would allow patients to finally see the long awaited clarification from our elected officials. We all were mistaken, Operation Green RX is in full force.

Less than two and a half weeks ago, on July 7th Detective Mike Mendez from the San Diego Police Department’s Narcotics Task Force went to a local doctor here in San Diego, lied about his identity, symptoms, condition, and obtained under the name of Pierre Tiberius Uggla a valid Physician’s Statement and Recommendation for the medical use of cannabis.

On Thursday July 9th Pierre (Detective Mike Medez) called a local dispensing collective, provided all the pertinent information over the phone to prove that he is a qualified patient, then after being verified by the collective with his physician, the Detective went to the collective, completed all the required paperwork, and joined. While completing the membership agreements and other documents, the detective displayed a blatant disregard for law enforcement protocols and revealed his real name Mike Mendez on the form.

Research of news articles from the past and public records have shown, Detective Mike Mendez (Pierre Uggla) has been with the San Diego Police Department for over 20 years, and currently is assigned to the San Diego Narcotics Task Force.

Detective Mendez was reported by the collective operator as saying “Whats the good kron here?” when entering the medicine room of the collective.

According to reports from several other collectives in San Diego over the last two weeks, Mike Mendez (Pierre Uggla) and a number of others with valid recommendations made multiple attempts in join collectives around the city and county. The security staff at one of the collective attacked by Detective Mendez reported that the detectives “came in to the front check-in area, began acting belligerent, started to harassing the members waiting to check in, and actually attempted to enter the secured medication room without approval”. When asked to leave by the armed security staff and escorted outside, the detectives were heard yelling at the security staff “Who’s side are you on?”.

Further research showed that this same detective was involved in both Operation Green RX this February in which all the collectives listed on the California NORML website were targeted, as well as in Operation Green RX '06 when other collectives and doctor were targeted and shut down around the city.

These same detectives sit on the stand in court under oath and say that they respect medical cannabis, when at the same hearing they also testify that their knowledge of medical cannabis is based on this handout from the CNOA, which instructs the detectives to believe that cannabis is NOT medicine, is illegal and highly addictive.

The doctors targeted by these investigations, the patients, and the citizens of San Diego are demanding answers. Who is funding these investigations? Who is behind them? Why is this senseless waste of taxpayer dollars allowed to continue while other legitimate members of the narcotics and other task forces around the county are being laid off as a result of the budget crisis and the economy?

This type of behavior, harassment, and continued prosecutions based on a complete misrepresentation and disregard for the laws already in place is both shocking, and additional proof that the San Diego Narcotics Task Force has made it's Top Priority to shut down all medical collective cultivation and distribution efforts in San Diego regardless of the attempts made by these patients to follow the law.

This combined with the county's continued efforts to put roadblocks in front of patients trying to follow the law only adds more confusion to already confusing and impossible to follow “serpentine roadmap” that makes up our cannabis laws as one of the Judges put it in a recent hearing of a Green RX defendant.

If the narcotics task force, the county, and the district attorney would invest even a third of the effort and funding into productive outreach to the collectives and began to actually work with patients instead of creating roadblocks and this continued harassment and bias driven prosecutions, then I am certain that all the public concerns would have already been addressed, legal zoning ordinances and permits for collectives would be an issue of the past as it is with many cities in California such as San Francisco, and patients would feel safe and have safe access.

It is crucial now more then ever for supporters, patients, doctors, law enforcement officials, and our health department to continue the dialog started by the City Council. It is also just as critical for the people of San Diego to see with transparency and demand accountability from the people behind these investigations. This continued waste and senseless harassment or in short, madness, needs to stop.

The solution is not bans, moratoriums, or prosecutions. Outright bans result in lawsuits, moratoriums in years of stalling and extensions of the moratoriums, and prosecutions result in patients and collectives having to operate so deeply underground that any potential benefit they could be bringing to the community is stifled by the environment of fear.

The solution will only be discovered through collaboration, outreach, understanding, and eduction of between all the parties involved. Until there is clarity patients will continue to suffer, our law enforcement will continue to operate under “vague laws”, and the lives of innocent law abiding citizens will continue to be destroyed by a select bias driven few.

Often I hear in our community many who want to do something to help make a difference. Here are three specific things you can do today to help stop Operation Green RX and prevent more arrests, harassment, and the bias driven prosecutions here in San Diego.

1. Write the GRAND JURY2. Write City Council3. Call and Write the San Diego District Attorney (Bonnie Dumanis)

Sunday, July 19, 2009

If you thought that Operation Green Rx only occured in the beginning of this year and only affected collectives operating prior to the Supreme Courts Decision to not hear San Diego County Board of Supervisors Law Suit and attempt to overturn Prop 215, think again!

July 7th, 2009 Detective Mike Mendez from the San Diego Police Department’s Narcotics team went to Dr. Clark’s office in San Diego, lied about his identity, symptoms, condition, and obtained under the name of Pierre Tiberius Uggla a valid Physician’s Statement and Recommendation for the medical use of marijuana.

Here is a picture of his Valid California Driver's License, he used to obtain the Recommendation:

On Thursday July 9th Detective Mike Medez went to Answerdam (a medical cannabis collective in San Diego), provided a copy of the recommendation along with a valid CA Drivers License #N3267614 shown above, and successfully joined the collective. When completing the appropriate paperwork to join the collective, “Pierre Uggla” accidentally wrote his real name Mike Mendez on the form.

As research on line (UT Article) and public records has shown Detective Mike Mendez (Pierre Uggla) has been with the San Diego Police Department for over 20 years, and currently is assigned to the San Diego Narcotics Task Force.

It was also reported that Mike Mendez said “Whats the good kron here?” when entering the medicine room of the collective.

Detective Mike Mendez (Pierre Ugla) arrived at Answerdam on Thursday July 16th in a light blue 2005/06 Toyota Avalon) driven by Detective Mark Carlson (Sterner Vs. Carlson) also of the San Diego Police Departments’ narcotics team that was involved in Operation Green Rx (http://www.EugeneDavidovich.com) in February where another Detective of the San Diego Police Department (Scott Henderson) called and joined all of the collectives then listed on CA NORML.

Both Detective Mike Mendez (Pierre Uggla) and Detective Mark Carlson were accompanied by two more detectives driving a Silver Van. These detectives have not yet been identified, however interviews with Top Quality Collective security staff have revealed that the two detectives driving the silver van went into the collective and attempted to join without the proper paperwork. It is reported that the detectives began to act belligerent and began to harass the members arriving, when asked to leave the premises, the were reported telling the security staff “who's side are you on?”.

According to reports from several other collectives in San Diego, Mike Mendez (Pierre Uggla), Mark Carlson, and the two detectives in the Silver Van, have made several attempts in the past few weeks to join multiple collectives here in San Diego.

This is both shocking, and additional proof that The San Diego Narcotics Task Force has made it's Top Priority to shut down all collective cultivation / distribution efforts in San Diego, regardless of the attempts made by collectives to follow the law.

The 'war' on the San Diego Medical Cannabis community by a select few has not ended. The people of San Diego should demand a STOP to Operation Green RX, these senseless investigations, and the continued harassment of collectives in San Diego by the select bias driven few in the Narcotics Task force.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Often I hear in our community that there are many who want to do something to help make a difference in the fight.

Here are two specific things that you can do that I beleive will truly make a difference and help prevent another Operation Green Rx as well as help me with my case.

1. Write San Diego City Council

2. Call and Write to the San Diego District Attorney

(please see contact info and further explanation on how)

WRITING CITY COUNCIL

If you feel comfortable doing so, I would greatly appreciate it if you could write the San Diego City Council. Please send them an email asking them to launch a Grand Jury investigation into Operation Green Rx! After all we all were told that Medical Cannabis patients would not be targeted and that it was not top priority for San Diego Law enforcement.

District 1

Councilmember Sherri Lightner

E-mail: sherrilightner@sandiego.gov

District 2

Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer

E-mail: kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov

District 3

Councilmember Todd Gloria

E-mail: toddgloria@sandiego.gov

District 4

Councilmember Tony Young

E-mail: anthonyyoung@sandiego.gov

District 5

Councilmember Carl DeMaio

E-mail: carldemaio@sandiego.gov

District 6

Councilmember Donna Frye

E-mail: donnafrye@sandiego.gov

District 7

Councilmember Marti Emerald

E-mail: martiemerald@sandiego.gov

District 8

Council President Ben Hueso

E-mail: benhueso@sandiego.gov

WRITING THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Please CALL or write District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and ask her to drop the charges in my case, Stop Prosecuting Medical Cannabis Patients, and launch an investigation into Operation Green Rx.

District Attorney: Bonnie Dumanis

T: 619-531-4040

E: publicaffairs@sdcda.org

330 W. Broadway

San Diego, CA 92101

I sincerely thank you for you support and for doing something to make a difference. The time has come to say enough is enough, patients deserve respect, safe access, and a stop to these senseless prosecutions that do nothing for the public good, rather destroy innocent people's lives and clog up our already bankrupt and problematic legal system.

Porton Down, UK, 16 July 2009: GW Pharmaceuticals plc (GWP:AIM) today announces that it has passed a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspection by the UK regulatory authority of its new in-house commercial manufacturing facility for Sativex®, enabling the facility to act as the primary manufacturing site for the anticipated European commercial launch of Sativex.

Prior to now, GW has sub-contracted the final step in the bulk GMP manufacture of Sativex to a contract manufacturing partner. GW has previously announced that it had decided to upgrade its in-house facility with a view to taking over responsibility for GMP commercial finished product manufacture from its sub-contracting partner in time for European commercial launch. This upgrade has been completed on time and on budget. This means that GW now controls each step in the manufacturing supply chain for Sativex.

GW’s new in-house facility was recently inspected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and a GMP Certificate and Manufacturer’s/Importer’s Licence has now been issued to allow for commercial manufacture. This commercial licence adds to GW’s previous licences to manufacture clinical trials materials and to manufacture product for named patient supply.

The new GW facility is initially able to produce quantities of Sativex sufficient to treat 25,000 patients per year. In addition, GW has put in place arrangements at its manufacturing site to expand this capacity in order to respond to increased demand in the coming years.

In May, GW filed a regulatory submission for Sativex for the treatment of spasticity due to Multiple Sclerosis in the UK and Spain under the European decentralised procedure. It is expected that an outcome of the regulatory submission will be known towards the end of 2009 / early 2010. Upon approval, Sativex will be marketed in the UK by Bayer HealthCare, and in the rest of the European Union by Laboratorios Almirall S.A.

Mr Justin Gover, GW’s Managing Director, said, “We are pleased to have passed this important step in preparation for the anticipated European commercial launch of Sativex. We now have full control of the manufacturing supply chain for Sativex, which will benefit the company strategically as well as in terms of our gross margin.”

Sativex MS Spasticity Regulatory SubmissionIn May 2009, GW announced that it had filed a regulatory submission for Sativex for the treatment of spasticity due to Multiple Sclerosis. This submission followed the announcement in March 2009 of a positive Phase III trial in this indication. The regulatory submission has been filed in the UK and Spain under the European decentralised procedure. The UK regulatory authority, the MHRA, is acting as Reference Member State and has validated the application. It is expected that an outcome of the regulatory submission will be known towards the end of 2009 / early 2010.

Following approval in the UK and Spain, submissions for approval will made in additional European countries during 2010 under the mutual recognition procedure.

About GWGW was founded in 1998 and listed on the AIM, a market of the London Stock Exchange, in June 2001. Operating under license from the UK Home Office, the company researches and develops cannabinoid pharmaceutical products for patients who suffer from a range of serious ailments, in particular multiple sclerosis and cancer pain. GW has assembled a large in-house scientific team with expertise in cannabinoid science as well as experience in the development of both plant-based prescription pharmaceutical products and medicines containing controlled substances. GW occupies a world leading position in cannabinoids and has developed an extensive international network of the most prominent scientists in the field.

Do you think that the San Diego City Council should move to condemn operation Green Rx and request a formal inquiry into all the details of the operation?

If so please let them know by sending them an email demanding a full Grand Jury investigation into Operation Green Rx!! After all we all were told that Medical Cannabis patients would not be targeted, and that it was not top priority for our law enforcement.

San Diego Narcotics Division top priority: shut down medical cannabis collectives in San Diego.

Eugene Davidovich

July 15, 2009

The preliminary hearing in my case lasted from 8:15 in the morning until almost 4:30 in the afternoon. After trying to navigate the “Serpentine Roadmap” that makes up our medical marijuana laws with my attorney in court, it appears to be more confusing then ever.

The day started with the prosecutor fighting tooth and nail to not allow the recommendation from my physician to be admitted into the court records proving that I am a qualified patient even though we had subpoenaed the documentation from the doctor’s office, and had a sworn affidavit to support that from the doctor’s custodian of record. My recommendation was admitted although it took a lot of effort from my attorney.

The expert witness Chris Conrad, did get to testify and testified that the collective and the way that it was operating was in fact legal and sanctioned under state law. Even though the expert witness who was originally involved in an advisory and consulting capacity in drafting Prop 215 testified to what a collective is and that what I was doing did in fact fall under that definition as intended by the law, the judge did not agree he saw ‘no evidence of a collective” even though the detectives themselves said that I cultivated marijuana based on the equipment they found in my storage unit.

We also found out from Detective Conrado Decastro that this Operation Green Rx was in fact targeting Medical Marijuana Patients and the whole point with Operation Green Rx was to bring down everyone listing their collectives on NORML only later was the name changed to Operation Endless Summer. We also found out that Conrado Decastro is in charge and is the ‘mastermind’ behind “Operation Green Rx”.

On a side note: In February when I was arrested, Conrado Decastro interrogated me at the police station. During the interrogation he pulled out two large 3 inch black binders that had a large red cross and marijuana leaf on them. The two binders contained a large number of tabs with last names of people. As he pulled out the two binders, he told me that I was not alone, and that “we are gonna bring all you medical pot people down”.

Detective Scott Henderson (Jamie Conlan), conveniently ‘could not recall’ the details of the two phone conversations we had where I explained to him that this was a collective cultivation effort, and that he was not to divert the medicine to the illicit market. It was also very convenient that the detectives recorded everything except for the phone conversations even though he testified that the equipment for such recordings was readily available.

It was unbelievable to see this much resources from the practically bankrupt county of San Diego being spent on this effort. There were for example at least five bailiffs in the courtroom, the DA had at least five other people from the DA’s office advising her on how to properly prosecute this case, and they brought out three detectives to testify. All this during a Preliminary Hearing for a case where both people are qualified medical cannabis patients and one requested to join the other collective.

It seems that the San Diego Narcotics Division TOP priority has been made to investigate and shut down medical cannabis collectives in San Diego.

Here is another example from my Preliminary Hearing this Monday.:

Conrado Decastro, the Investigative Officer in my case, was identified by his colleague Scott Henderson as the officer in charge of Operation Green Rx.

Conrado Decastro testified that he based his opinion of collectives and medical marijuana on training he received during his career. When questioned further about who conducted this training, he referenced a privately funded lobby group called California Narcotic Officers Association (CNOA). He also testified that during his training he received a handout which he used to base his expert testimony on, as to what a medical marijuana collective is and what constitutes qualified patient use.

Here is a brief sample from that handout:

USE OF MARIJUANA AS “MEDICINE”

Quick Facts:

Marijuana, a plant from the cannabis family, is illegal and highly psychoactive.

Marijuana and its associated compunds can seriously affect the human body.

Marijuana is NOT medicine.

Handout can be downloaded here from the CNOA California Narcotic Officers Association:http://www.cnoa.org/N-09.pdf

The expert testimony of Chris Conrad in my case is based on his involvement in working with the drafters of the actual Prop 215 and the law, which the judge did not agree with. However, this handout which is clearly designed to sway people into thinking that cannabis is not medicine is a valid document to base Conrado Decastro’s opinion on, which the judge did agree with.

In San Diego our Narcotics Officers are instructed that Marijuana is NOT Medicine and is highly addictive, our judges refer to medical cannabis as "dope", and the prosecutors fight with all their might to not allow legitimate patients to present subpoenaed physician records as evidence of their patient status.

As more collectives open here in San Diego, it is now more critical then ever for patients from the Medical Cannabis Community in San Diego to stand together against this continued attempt to overturn the will of the people, by a select bias driven few.

In short, it went as expected. The bias shined bright in court!

Read more from San Diego News Network:http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-07-14/news/eugene-davidovich-hearing-proves-obvious-bias-against-medical-marijuana#ixzz0LMMlFlSV&C

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Today in my (Eugene Davidovich) preliminary hearing Conrado Decastro of the San Diego Police Department Narcotics Division, was identified by his colegue Scott Henderson as the officer in chagre of Operation Green Rx.

Conrado Decastro testified that he based his opinion of collectives and medical marijuana on training he received during his career. When questioned further about who conducted this training, he referenced a privately funded lobby group called California Narcotic Officers Association (CNOA). He also testified that during his traning he received a handout which he used to base his expert testimony on, as to what a medical marijuana collective is and what constitutes qualified patient use.

Today after my preliminary hearing a friend pointed out this handout to me.

Here is a brief sample from that handout:

USE OF MARIJUANA AS "MEDICINE"

Quick Facts:

Marijuana, a plant from the cannabis family, is illegal and highly psychoactive.

Marijuana and its associated compunds can seriously affect the human body.

So the expert testimony of Chris Conrad in my case is based on his involvement in working with the drafters of the actual Prop 215 and the law, which the judge did not agree with. However this handout which is clearly designed to sway people into thinking that Cannabis is not medicine is a valid document to base Conrado Decastro's opinion on, which the judge agreed with.

Shouldn't medical training be based on the actual law in place and not the incorrect interpretation of CNOA, or am I missing something here?

Monday, July 13, 2009

The preliminary hearing in my case lasted today from 8:15 in the morning until almost 4:30 in the afternoon. After trying to navigate the “Serpentine Roadmap” that makes up our medical marijuana laws with my attorney in court, it appears to be more confusing then ever.

The day started with the prosecutor fighting tooth and nail to not allow the recommendation from my physician to be admitted into the court records proving that I am a qualified patient even though we had subpoenaed the documentation from the doctor’s office, and had a sworn affidavit to support that from the doctor’s custodian of record. My recommendation was admitted although it took a lot of effort from my attorney.

The expert witness Chris Conrad, did get to testify and testified that the collective and the way that it was operating was in fact legal and sanctioned under state law. Even though the expert witness who was originally involved in an advisory and consulting capacity in drafting Prop 215 testified to what a collective is and that what I was doing did in fact fall under that definition as intended by the law, the judge did not agree he saw ‘no evidence of a collective” even though the detectives themselves said that I cultivated marijuana based on the equipment they found in my storage unit.

We also found out from Detective Conrado Decastro that this Operation Green Rx was in fact targeting Medical Marijuana Patients and the whole point with Operation Green Rx was to bring down everyone listing their collectives on NORML only later was the name changed to Operation Endless Summer. We also found out that Conrado Decastro is in charge and is the ‘mastermind’ behind “Operation Green Rx”.

On a side note: In February when I was arrested, Conrado Decastro interrogated me at the police station. During the interrogation he pulled out two large 3 inch black binders that had a large red cross and marijuana leaf on them. The two binders contained a large number of tabs with last names of people. As he pulled out the two binders, he told me that I was not alone, and that “we are gonna bring all you medical pot people down”.

Detective Scott Henderson (Jamie Conlan) today, conveniently ‘could not recall’ the details of the two phone conversations we had where I explained to him that this was a collective cultivation effort, and that he was not to divert the medicine to the illicit market. It was also very convenient that the detectives recorded everything except for the phone conversations even though he testified that the equipment for such recordings was readily available.

It was unbelievable to see this much resources from the practically bankrupt county of San Diego being spent on this effort. Today for example, there were at least 5 bailiffs in the courtroom, the DA had at least five other people from the DA’s office advising her on how to properly prosecute this case, and they brought out three detectives to testify. All this during a Preliminary Hearing for a case where both people are qualified medical cannabis patients.

It seems that the San Diego Narcotics Division TOP priority has been made to investigate and shut down medical cannabis collectives in San Diego.

I am still in shock after today and am now trying to figure out how to get funds together for my attorney to retain him further.

It seems that the DA is heavily invested into this ‘war’ and it seems that I just might end up being another ‘casualty’ as fighting this machine seems almost impossible, especially when they have unlimited disposal to their attorneys and ‘advisors’ and I have to rely on my self, a public defender, or somehow attempt to afford an attorney after loosing my employment and savings as a result of these charges.

In short, it went as expected. The bias shined bright in court today!

Thank you again to everyone who came and supported me in court today. It was truly inspiring to turn around and see a packed courtroom in the morning as well as to get to speak with a number of you.

As more collectives open here in San Diego, it is now more critical then ever for patients from the Medical Cannabis Community in San Diego to stand together against this continued attempt to overturn the will of the people, by a select bias driven few.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Mother Earth Co-op is proud to share a treasured collection of the finest therapeutic recipes from our medicinal kitchen. This attractive cookbook is in a padded 3-ring loose leaf binder that comes with an easel bookstand which securely holds your cookbook open and upright for hands free cooking. The easel conveniently stores inside the 3-ring binder. This makes an ideal gift or keepsake. The one of a kind cookbook, contains 420 well loved medical cannabis recipes including: History of marijuana, how to make cannabutters, cannaoils, tinctures, appetizers, main dishes, soups, salads, desserts and many other medicinal remedies.

Proceeds from this unique cookbook will be donated to the following organizations: breast cancer, cancer, aids & hiv research, Mama's Kitchen and Friends for Pets.

In a large heavy sauce pan, melt butter, add the cannabis (marijuana) and stir until all is well mixed. WARNING: Do not boil. Continue to simmer over a very low heat, for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Turn heat off and allow the mixture cool to room temperature, for about one hour. Return mixture to stove, simmer until the mixture is liquid. Using a cheesecloth or strainer, on top of a large bowl or individual sterile mason jars, strain the mixture through the cheesecloth or strainer, to separate the cannabis from the butter and discard the herb. Let cool and refrigerate for up to four week or freeze up to 6 months.

Note: A French press, made for coffee is a perfect tool for straining the cannabis from the butter or oil. The caregiver and patient need to experiment and evaluate with what is the best strength of medication for their personal needs.

RELIEF OF NAUSEA

(Remedies) Mother Earth Co-op

1 oz cola syrup *

3 drops cannabis tincture *

1 tsp carbonated water

Take 1 tablespoon of cola syrup alone. For those who cannot take alone, or find the syrup too sweet, mix with a bit of carbonated water; drink immediately. Place 3 drops of cannabis tincture *(see recipe) directly under your tongue, for added relief of nausea and soothing of most stomach aches.

Note: * Make certain that you get cola syrup, which is available at drug most stores. Coca-Cola and Pepsi were originally developed as a medical syrup .

Cannabis Conversations

Eugene Davidovich, facing four felony counts in a San Diego courtroom on Monday, after a San Diego county cop lied to a doctor, presented a fake ID, and purchased from Davidovich’s legally-operated collective. Visit EugeneDavidovich.com to support and be at San Diego Superior Court Dept 11, 220 W. Broadway in San Diego on Monday at 8am if you can.

For more information about my case and to see the footage of the delivery please visit my website: http://www.eugenedavidovich.com

This week San Diego City leadership made an excellent first step towards providing patients with the long awaited and desperately needed clarification of the serpentine roadmap that makes up our Medical Cannabis laws. The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services committee heard testimony from both patients and law enforcement, and actually held a balanced debate on the issue, as well as decided to move towards re-establishing the Medical Marijuana Task force. The county of San Diego, is a different story altogether. Even though it has been over a decade since Prop 215, several years since SB420, and almost a year since the AG guidelines, only this week San Diego County implemented the ID Card program. This after being forced to do so by the United States Supreme Court.

Instead of giving up the misguided fight to overturn Prop 215 and the will of California voters and provide clarification and protection for patients, the board moved to implement the most expensive ID Card Program in the state and at the same board meeting as per the recommendation of our District Attorney and the Chief of Police, moved to make illegal dispensaries illegal, thus encouraging more prosecutions and in addition to the felony charges will now be able to assess fines for violating zoning ordinances.

Patients were expecting clarification and protection from a District Attorney who says she supports medical cannabis, instead of encouragement for law enforcement to conduct more prosecutions as the first move after the supreme court decision.

Patients were hoping that instead of recommending additional fines and penalties to be assessed to patients who attempt to follow this serpentine roadmap, the District Attorney would have recommended clarification, or guidelines for patients and collectives.

This continued prosecution and lack of clarification combined with what is said and done in courts by the Deputy DA's, such as not allowing experts to testify at Preliminary Hearings, and not allowing patients to admit their doctor’s recommendations into the record, makes it 100% clear that Operation Green Rx or otherwise known as Operation Endless Summer was just a practice run, compared to what they plan to do with all the collectives currently open in San Diego.

For the safety and wellbeing of medical cannabis patients in San Diego we need to see our City and County leadership to stand up and condemn Operation Green Rx, and continue on the path started this week by the City to re-form a citizens committee made up of patients, health officials, and law enforcement to advise the city and county on how to implement the laws already in place.

I am Eugene Davidovich and have been a resident of San Diego for over 20 years, honorably discharged from the US Navy, and having completed an MBA, I built a successful career in Software Development Project Management. As a part time effort, I operated a non profit collective here in San Diego until last February when my house was raided and I arrested in ‘Operation Green Rx’ later announced by the District Attorney in a press conference as ‘Operation Endless Summer’.

In this operation a local San Diego Police Detective lied to his doctor about his identity and condition, obtained a valid recommendation for medical marijuana and joined the majority of the medical collectives and coops listed on the San Diego section of the CA NORML list.

The detective called me and joined the collective over the phone. Then after verifying his eligibility with his doctor I allowed him to join the collective. While pretending to be a sick patient, he requested that I deliver medical cannabis to him. Having seen him once and provided him with a ¼ ounce of medical cannabis, I am now facing 4 felony charges, $65,000 bail, and permanent profoundly traumatic damage to my professional and personal life.

Please join me in the struggle for patients' rights to collectively cultivate and distribute medication by supporting me in court on July 13th, 2009 at 8:15am.

To learn more about my case and to see the actual footage of the undercover operation where I deliver the medication to the undercover officer, please visit http://www.eugenedavidovich.com

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

This afternoon The Committee on Public Safety and Neighborhood services of the City of San Diego, chaired by Councilmember Marti Emerald heard as an agenda item, an "Update from the San Diego Police Department Narcotic Section regarding Medical Marijuana Enforcement Procedures". This update included a powerpoint presentation about the current state of laws in California pertaining to Medical Marijuana as well as testimony from the Police Department on the current enforcement procedures. The committee heard testomony from the public on the issue.

Here is what I said:

Good Afternoon Councilmembers and members of the committee. My name is Eugene Davidovich from Mission Valley.

With today’s meeting, our San Diego City leadership is making an excellent first step towards providing patients with the long awaited and desperately needed clarification of the serpentine roadmap that makes up our Medical Cannabis laws.

Even though it has been over a decade since Prop 215, several years since SB420, and almost a year since the AG guidelines.

Only this week San Diego County implemented the ID Card program. This after being forced to do so by the United States Supreme Court.

Instead of giving up the misguided fight to overturn Prop 215 and the will of California voters and provide clarification and protection for patients, the board moved to implement the most expensive ID Card Program in the state and at the same board meeting as per the recommendation of our District Attorney and the Chief of Police, moved to make illegal dispensaries illegal, thus encouraging more prosecutions.

Patients were expecting clarification and protection from a District Attorney who says she supports medical cannabis, instead of encouragement for law enforcement to conduct more prosecutions as the first move after the supreme court decision.

Patients were hoping that instead the District Attorney would have recommended clarification, or guidelines for patients and collectives.

This continued prosecution and lack of clarification combined with what is said and done in court by the Deputy DA's makes it 100% clear that Operation Green Rx or otherwise known as Operation Endless Summer was just a practice run, compared to what they plan to do with all the collectives currently open in San Diego.

For the safety and wellbeing of medical cannabis patients in San Diego, I strongly urge this committee to provide the long awaited respect and protection that patients deserve, to condemn Operation Green Rx, and to form a citizens committee made up of patients, health officials, and law enforcement to advise the city and county on how to implement the laws already in place.

Thank you for the time and opportunity to speak.

After hearing testimony from all the speakers, the comitee decided to move towards re-establishing the Medical Marijuana Task Force, as well as expressed strong desire to work with patients and law enforcement to clarify the serpentine roadmap that makes up our laws.

This truly was an inspirational and moving meeting, as this was the first time I heard our county leadership express sincere support for medical cannabis and discuss the issue without trating it as a joke. Today as Councilmember Marti Emerald said "we are hitting the reset button" when refering to the relations and dialog between patients, lawenforcement, and government here in San Diego.

Eugene Davidovich

http://www.eugenedavidovich.com

Please support me in court on the 13th of July at 8:15am - 220 W Broadway San Diego, CA 92101 - Department 11